


chased your love around a figure eight

by jenuyu



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Figure Skater Lee Jeno, M/M, Misunderstandings, Rivalry, Speed Skater Na Jaemin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-15 21:26:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16071665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenuyu/pseuds/jenuyu
Summary: When Jeno gets stood up on a date at a Moomin exhibit, the last person in the world he wants to see is Na Jaemin, the speed skater who’s been using up all of his time on the rink. But then Jaemin offers to go see the exhibit with Jeno, and, well. He supposes that there are worse things in life than going on a date in the name of making friends with the enemy.





	chased your love around a figure eight

**Author's Note:**

> [speed skater jaem](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dnt_PHrU4AAkNv-.jpg) x [figure skater jen](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DnxrvN3XoAEgzFA.jpg)

Jeno’s never been one for petty rivalries.

They’re wastes of time, wastes of energy, and as Heejin would say, “Why bother caring about what other people think when there are better things to be doing?” Jeno’s inclined to agree, except for in one important case: when it comes to sharing their rink with the speed skaters, Jeno’s as territorial as anyone could ever get. The speed skaters aren’t even supposed to use the same rink as the figure skaters are, but their rink is undergoing renovations, and the figure skating coach decided all on his own to extend an olive branch of sorts.

Jeno doesn’t mind. The speed skaters are (presumably) human, too. They have as much right to practice as Jeno does. He just doesn’t understand why that olive branch had to cut in on team practice right before Nationals.

“We could be working on our twizzles,” Heejin murmurs to Jeno, unlacing her skates and peeling them off. “Can’t believe Coach really gave them nighttime practice when we barely have enough time to work on our routine as is.”

“I know,” Jeno sighs, tugging on a pair of trackpants and a t-shirt. They’re at the point of being obscenely comfortable around one another now after being ice dance partners for the past sixteen years, and when the girls’ locker room is too packed, Jeno just lets her into the guys’. “Sorry about dropping you earlier, by the way. I swear I didn’t mean to throw you that far.”

“It’s okay, I’ll be sure to step on your thighs extra hard next time during a lift.” Heejin grins, beautiful and terrifying at the same time. “C’mon, maybe if we’re fast we can make it back to the dorms before pizza night ends.”

As they leave the rink, Jeno accidentally makes eye contact with one of the parasites who’ve invaded their rink for the foreseeable future. The parasite winks at him, says, “Thanks for the rink!” and Jeno rolls his eyes and walks away. _Don’t engage them_ , Heejin told him when they first got news of the rink sharing. _That’ll just make them think they’re on our level when all they do is skate around in circles. We’re already better than they are, so let’s just do our thing, yeah?_

It’s easier said than done, Jeno thinks. Easier said than done.

That’s why it’s clearly a sign that Jeno murdered a prince in a past life or did something equally heinous when he shows up at the Moomin Exhibit at the local art museum at nine in the morning and the parasite from last night is standing there instead of the cute boy who works at the library— instead of the boy who’d invited him to this damn exhibition in the first place.

(“I’ve seen you around a few times. Wanna go to a Moomin Exhibit with me at nine tomorrow?” Renjun asked last night as he scanned the book on infectious diseases Jeno was borrowing for a paper. Jeno hadn’t even been sure why Renjun was asking him out, given the fact that they’d spoken a grand total of one time, but he wasn’t saying no.

“Yeah,” Jeno replied, and there must’ve been little pink hearts in his eyes. Renjun only smiled blithely at him before telling him to have a good day, and in hindsight, maybe he should’ve gotten Renjun’s contact information or something before leaving the library with the most obnoxious skip in his step. Damn past him.)

Jeno stands there and waits for Renjun to show up, and he refuses to believe even after the first half hour of waiting outside the museum’s ticket office that he’s been stood up, but. Well. Shit. Anyway. Jeno would really, really rather die than spend another second breathing the same air the parasite’s breathing, and he makes to turn when he reaches forward to grab Jeno’s wrist.

“Wait, aren’t you that ice dancer? From last night?”

Jeno whirls around. “Yeah, and you’re the _parasite_.”

“Whoa, whoa. Hey, calm down. I’m really grateful for all the work you and your team have given up for us. It’s been great using your rink, even if your facilities are kinda… meh.” Jeno bristles, and the parasite continues. “But I think we got off on the wrong foot. I’m Jaemin.”

Jeno eyes the outstretched hand warily, like if he’s not careful, it’ll sprout an ice pick and scratch him. He decides, after a long internal battle, to take it. “Jeno.”

“Good to meet you.” The parasite— Jaemin, Jeno reminds himself firmly, the parasite’s name is Jaemin— looks up at the banner above them proudly proclaiming _STRAIGHT FROM FINLAND! MOOMIN IS HERE!_ “So, what brings you here?”

“Um.” There’s no way in hell Jeno’s telling this unfairly attractive speed skating parasite that he’s just been stood up. “I was supposed to meet a friend here, but he can’t make it.” He groans, remembering that he bought a ticket for himself as soon as he got there. “Which really sucks, since I already got my ticket and all.”

Jaemin’s eyes widen, his face pinching just slightly, before he breaks out in a grin. “Hey, me too! My friend couldn’t make it either. I already got a ticket, but I don’t know if I should just go home or not. I only came to this thing because he wanted to go, but I guess he was a bit busy.”

They both sigh, staring down at the tickets in their hands, before Jaemin looks up and Jeno gets a terrible sinking feeling that he knows what’s going to come out of his mouth next.

“Why don’t we just go together?”

There it is. Jeno supposes there are definitely worse things to be doing with his Saturday morning, but still. He’s a _speed skater._ But then he’s been told to be nice to the speed skaters and to help them feel comfortable in another team’s space and ugh. Fine.

“Yeah,” Jeno says, smiling, as fake as he can possibly manage, and Jaemin beams even more brightly at him. “I’d love that.”

 

 

“How was it?” Heejin asks delicately as soon as he unlocks their door and steps inside, stretching her legs over Jeno’s bed and looking for all the world like a particularly large and content cat. “Your date?”

“It was fine,” Jeno says, dropping his backpack on the floor and collapsing onto Heejin’s bed. He cracks an eye at her. “No more questions, please.”

Jeno throws a crumpled up wad of paper (the map of the available galleries he’d gotten upon entering the exhibition with Jaemin in tow) at Heejin, who catches it in the air and unfolds it. “‘Color your own Moomin and take it home with you!’” Heejin reads out. “Where’s yours?”

“I didn’t do it,” Jeno scoffs. “Why would I?”

Heejin narrows her eyes at him. “Liar,” she says, “there’s a fucking marker stain on the inside of your wrist.”

“No way.” There isn’t one— he’d triple checked his sleeves after leaving, mostly to make sure Jaemin didn’t plant any bugs on him or anything, and he’s sure that he isn’t blind enough to miss a marker stain. He can’t resist the urge to check anyway, and when he looks up, Heejin is grinning.

“Aha, you checked,” Heejin says triumphantly. “Where’s the picture?”

“I don’t have it,” Jeno says, raising his arms defensively. “I didn’t even do one.”

“You wouldn’t throw it away. You’re too obsessed with the idea of love to throw something like that away. Where is it? Don’t think I’m above going through your shit myself.”

Jeno sighs in defeat. “I really don’t have mine with me. He made us exchange our Moomins, so I have his.” He gets off the bed and fishes out a piece of paper from his backpack. There’s a baby Moomin smiling back at him from the page, its cheeks colored in a bright pink and daisies blooming around its head. The rest of it is overly garish, the poor Moomin’s head a neon green and its overalls some bastard mix of blue and orange. Honestly, it’s not all that bad though. It’s kinda cute in the way only baby animals can be.

“Oh my god, it’s so ugly. But so cute. But so _ugly_. Wow, I thought Huang Renjun was a better artist than this. Rest in peace, my image of him,” Heejin sighs, placing a hand over her chest, and Jeno’s heart stops beating.

He’d forgotten, after the absolute shitshow of a morning that it’s been, that in a perfect world, he’d still be on a date with Renjun and not coming home and crashing after being stood up. In a perfect world, he’d be eating burgers and fries with Renjun at the cafeteria and sneaking a look at the sketchbook he’s always carrying around with him and maybe even having the blessed opportunity to kiss him on the cheek. But instead, on this absolute bitch of an earth, the person he got lunch with was none other than Na Jaemin, frat star and parasite extraordinaire.

Not to be dramatic or anything, but Jeno hates his life, and Heejin can never know about it. He’ll never hear the end of how he’s defected to the speed skaters and abandoned his people for good. Which he hasn’t. Of course.

“Yeah,” Jeno says, just a little strangled. “Renjun. Totally.”

“Anyway, as interesting as your lack of love life is,” Heejin starts, rolling over onto her back. She reaches out to drag Jeno down onto the bed with her, and Jeno grunts in pain when he lands too hard on a bruise from last week’s practice. “Oh, yikes, sorry. Sorry, I know how sensitive you are. Anyway.”

“What,” Jeno grits out, and Heejin takes the opportunity to tuck her head underneath his chin.

“So Hyunjin and I are going out tomorrow, which bra do you think I should wear?”

“Doesn’t matter, because you’re just going to choose the one I don’t so you can throw me under the bus if things don’t work out.” Jeno snorts before affecting a falsetto. “‘Ugh, Hyunjin doesn’t want to date my clingy ass anymore, and it’s all your fault because you chose the lucky black bra instead of the lucky white one. After all, Aquarius is in retrograde through Mars or whatever and now you’ve ruined my life.’”

“You totally fucked it up, but valid point,” Heejin agrees. She curls around him even tighter, tight enough that Jeno can feel her heartbeat against his. They lay there in silence until Heejin presses a kiss to his collarbone through his shirt. “I’m glad you found Renjun, though. I’m glad you’re happy. Bitch.”

“Hope it works out with Hyunjin so you can leave me the fuck alone forever, fucker,” Jeno coos, ruffling Heejin’s hair and trying not to drop her and run away screaming at the thought of having to lie even more after this. He just hopes Heejin never asks about the Renjun Incident ever again.

“Never,” Heejin sniffs. “At least not until we win Nationals. Ugh, fuck the speed skaters, we could be practicing right now if it weren’t for them.”

“Yeah,” Jeno agrees hollowly. “Fuck the speed skaters.”

 

 

Jeno sleeps until noon, and when he wakes up, Heejin’s already left for her date with Hyunjin, a hockey player Heejin’s been crushing on for the better half of this semester. Or was she a tennis player? He doesn’t remember. Maybe she’s both. The girls’ hockey and tennis seasons don’t overlap, anyway, so she could definitely be both.

It’s two by the time Jeno drags himself out of bed to go to the library to study, and it’s honestly just his luck that the person who sits down next to him is the one person he’d really rather not see again.

“Hey, cutie,” Jaemin says, plonking down next to Jeno and shooting him a winning smile, and Jeno’s temporarily blinded before he reminds himself that Na Jaemin is the human embodiment of a bottle of Axe. “What are you up to?”

Jeno stares down at the notes spread out in front of him, then back up at Jaemin’s expectant gaze. “I’m studying,” Jeno says slowly. “What are you doing here?”

“Just working on an assignment.” Jaemin turns to drag his laptop out of his backpack, and Jeno watches him with a detached sort of amusement. He’s heard about how the star of their short track team’s also a star at Rage Cage and beer pong. He can’t wait to see what kind of assignment Jaemin has to work on.

Jaemin turns on his laptop, and instead of the history PDFs or sociology papers Jeno was expecting to see, a code editor pops up, and Jeno’s eyes bug out. That’s not English, it’s—

“You’re doing computer science?” Jeno chokes out, and Jaemin hums an affirmative.

“Yeah, I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do, so I took a whole bunch of classes freshman year. Coding was just easy for me, I dunno,” Jaemin says, shrugging. “That kind of stuff, though, I could never.”

Jaemin’s pointing to Jeno’s notebook, the one he’s using for his bio class. He’s scrawled out all of the pathways for aerobic respiration on one sheet, and it looks like nothing but a jumble of words and chemical structures.

“What does this say? Crab cycle?” Jaemin squints at the notebook, picking it up and staring at Jeno’s handwriting.

“Krebs cycle,” Jeno says automatically before he winces. “Uh, I swear my handwriting’s usually better than that, but that’s like, four in the morning scribbles.”

“Hey, no judgment here,” Jaemin says, resting his chin in his hands and leaning closer. “God only knows how many times I’ve watched the sun rise trying to finish a project.”

A laugh escapes Jeno’s throat before he can crush it down with his usual mantra of _he’s a speed skater show no emotion show no fear you are strong Lee Jeno you can do it_ , and as he stares at Jaemin’s face, so unfairly handsome yet so very dumb, he starts to feel a strange emotion rising in his chest. It’s neither heartburn nor acid reflux, and Jeno hasn’t had beans today, so it must be something a little bit like—

 

 

“Love,” Heejin says emphatically, flopping down onto her bed. Jeno watches her roll around, a textbook he hasn’t touched in an hour open on his lap. “Holy shit, I’m capital L in love with Kim Hyunjin. Fuck my life. Just. Just fuck it.”

“Why is this a bad thing?” Jeno asks, mild, and Heejin groans. When she looks back up at him, her eyes are glassy. “If you’re capital L in love with Hyunjin, why the long face? Why the dead fish eyes?”

“Because I just found out she was the one I accidentally made out with at that party from last semester. Remember, the one that Mark Lee broke his ankle at?”

“Oh, when he slipped in that puddle of beer, right?” Jeno remembers, of course. He remembers anything and everything that has to do with Mark Lee, the unfortunate byproduct of a short-lived crush Jeno nursed for the sophomore class council president during his freshman year. “Wait, you made out with Hyunjin there? I thought you said you made out with some senior. That tennis captain?”

“No, that was just wishful thinking. Dude, I literally have dreams of Sooyoung making out with me, but Jiwoo’s too cute. I can’t do that to her. Fuck. Hyunjin, though.” Heejin’s eyes go even glassier. “It was such a good date, too. She walked me back over here and was gonna kiss me when she said she just remembered something, so I was like what? And then she said I was her first kiss all the way back then, so quote unquote, ‘thanks for making it a good one,’ and you know what I said? You know what my dumb ass said?”

“What did your dumb ass say?” Jeno parrots obligingly, and Heejin groans.

“I _panicked_ ‘cause I didn’t know that was her, and I said,” Heejin buries her face in her pillow and screams before coming back up to finish her sentence, “‘You’re welcome, and have a nice day.’ Kill me now so I don’t have to do it myself.”

“That’s actually kind of unfortunate,” Jeno says. “But hey, look on the bright side. At least you didn’t puke on her.”

“Oh, thank god, right? Super glad it was just that tiny high schooler.”

“Im Yeojin is traumatized for life because of you. I heard she isn’t even applying here because she might accidentally see you on campus someday.”

“It’s fine. She’ll live,” Heejin says, flippant. “I, however, will most definitely not. Which is why you need to kill me.”

Jeno reaches over the space between their beds to pat her on her foot, the only part of her body he can reach. “I’m sure you gave her only good memories, Heejin. I support you in all that you do.”

“Thanks, but I’m really going to need you to end my life so I don’t die from embarrassment if I ever see Hyunjin again. You’re my only friend, Jeno. My sweet, sweet nerd cat dad friend. Do me a solid and drop kick me off a cliff, will you? I keep asking you to, but all you do is disappoint. Men,” Heejin sighs, and Jeno can’t even bring himself to be offended at the description she’s given him. She’s not wrong. “So, how’s it going with Renjun?”

Jeno blanches, and as if on cue, his phone lights up with an incoming notification.

 **14:09 Unknown Number:** hey i got ur # from ur friend dnnghyck  
**14:09 Unknown Number:** donghhuck*  
**14:09 Unknown Number:** donghyuck**  
**14:09 Unknown Number:** sry i have fat fingrs  
**14:09 Unknown Number:** o rigght this is ajemin :)  
**14:10 Unknown Number:** JAEMIN*  
**14:10 Unknown Number:** lol

“It’s going,” Jeno says, only mildly strangled as he unlocks his phone and goes to the conversation. Against his better judgment, he accepts the message request and starts typing, and he thanks anyone out there looking out for him that Heejin’s too emotionally constipated to care about what he’s doing, too busy wallowing in her own self-pity. “It’s going.”

 **14:11 Lee Jeno:** lose my number  
**14:11 Na Jaemin:** hi im jaemin  
**14:11 Na Jaemin:** nice 2 mett u  
**14:11 Na Jaemin:** ;;;000)))00  
**14:11 Lee Jeno:** NO  
**14:12 Na Jaemin:** :D;DDDd  
**14:12 Na Jaemin:** also m a little itty bityy tsipy right no w  
**14:12 Na Jaemin:** had 2 drin k like a lil bit ….. no … a lott to text u  
**14:13 Na Jaemin:** whoopsie  
**14:13 Lee Jeno:** -___-  
**14:13 Lee Jeno:** fine what do you want… i really can’t believe you’re day drinking  
**14:13 Na Jaemin:** its for a good casue babe  
**14:14 Na Jaemin:** baby*  
**14:14 Na Jaemin:** o wait it was rght lol  
**14:14 Na Jaemin:** btw ur arms r hot  
**14:14 Na Jaemin:** would lve to hodl them  
**14:14 Lee Jeno:** lmao wow  
**14:15 Na Jaemin:** anwyya im gna watch u practice trmr i want front row seats  
**14:15 Lee Jeno:** please don’t come  
**14:15 Na Jaemin:** said no one evr lmMAOAOO

 

 

Jaemin is, apparently, a man who keeps his promises. Jeno feels eyes on him the entire time he and Heejin are going through their Nationals free dance, a three-minute number to Defying Gravity that’s going to take approximately eighty-nine years to perfect, and they haven’t even started working out the issues in their short dance. About halfway through their allotted practice time, Heejin nudges Jeno as he’s stretching out a kink in his neck.

“Hey, why is Na Jaemin here? I thought short track doesn’t get the rink until later.”

Jeno’s gaze follows the direction her finger is pointing in, and as soon as he makes eye contact with Jaemin, whose hands are tucked into the pockets of his hoodie (not cute) and whose hair is flopping all over his head (absolutely not cute), he regrets it intensely. Jaemin has the most intense gaze Jeno’s ever had the misfortune to encounter, and it’s a testament to just how shitty Jeno’s luck is that Jaemin winks at him again before he cups his hands around his mouth and yells out, “Get it, babe!”

“I have no idea,” Jeno says, whirling around and staring obstinately at the stands. They’re painted a garish blue and yellow, and it’s clear that no one’s been around to touch them up in a while. “Let’s go, Come What May isn’t going to wait for us forever. We still gotta figure out how to buff our technical score, since Coach said we were good on the interpretation bits.”

Jeno tries. He really, really does, but he can’t quite manage to shake the feeling that he’s being watched. It’s stupid but it’s totally different from the way he feels during competitions, when the eyes of so many are on him. There’s only one pair of eyes on him now, and that, for some reason, feels so much more intense.

“Don’t let him get to you, just focus on me,” Heejin whispers to him, and Jeno realizes that he envies her sometimes. She’s good at compartmentalizing, at shutting out everything but the ice and Jeno when she’s performing, and he grits his teeth. She’s right— he’s letting Jaemin get under his skin, and he needs to concentrate.

They run through both routines a few more times before calling it a day, and Jeno doesn’t look over to the corner Jaemin’s made himself comfortable in at all the entire time. It’s only when he and Heejin put their skate guards on to step off the rink that he notices Jaemin’s gone, and he doesn’t realize why until he walks into the boys’ locker room and sees Jaemin sitting on the bench, tugging a helmet onto his head.

And, of course, because Jeno’s life is really this awful, Jaemin’s wearing the skintight speed skating uniform Jeno’s only ever seen in competition videos and newspaper articles. Jeno picks at the long-sleeved shirt he wears for practice in shame, because Jaemin looks disgustingly good in his uniform. He’s broader than he looks, and his chest is unfairly well-defined, and his shoulders are so, so wide, and—

“Hey, eyes up here,” Jaemin says, a smirk in his voice, and Jeno scowls at him before moving around him to the other side of the room.

“Who would ever look at your abs? Not me. Never.” Jeno grabs his duffel bag from the locker, taking his skates off and tossing them inside before toeing on his shoes. He’ll change when he’s home, and he’s grabbed all of his things when Jaemin speaks up.

“Watch me practice today.”

Jeno pauses at the door, trying to figure out if he’s heard Jaemin correctly, and when he turns around, Jaemin’s staring at him with none of the usual cheer on his face. He stands up and looks at Jeno and says, “I want you to be there,” and even after he leaves, Jeno can’t say no.

Jeno tells himself that it’s just the text from Heejin that says _sry hyunjin came and picked me up just now ill see u back in our room_ that makes him walk out of the locker room and into the stands. He tells himself that it’s just sheer curiosity, nothing more and nothing less, just the question _this isn’t a speed skating rink, but how is he so good?_ that keeps him rooted to his spot as Jaemin circles the rink at speeds Jeno can only ever dream of. He tells himself that it’s just the leftover adrenaline pumping through his veins that makes his heart beat just a bit faster when Jaemin looks up at the stands and finds Jeno and beams.

Liar, Jeno knows. Liar, liar, liar.

 

 

 **23:10 Na Jaemin:** hey thx for staying tonight  
**23:10 Na Jaemin:** i rly appreciated it  
**23:10 Na Jaemin:** ur routines with ur partner were rly good  
**23:14 Lee Jeno:** oops i was washing dishes  
**23:14 Lee Jeno:** but seriously no problem  
**23:14 Lee Jeno:** honestly i didn’t know short track was actually kinda cool  
**23:15 Lee Jeno:** sorry for being an asshole before i guess  
**23:17 Na Jaemin:** nah its not ur fault  
**23:17 Na Jaemin:** i mean lmao i told all my teammates ppl only watch figure skating for the costumes  
**23:17 Na Jaemin:** guess i was wrong  
**23:18 Lee Jeno:** lol you aren’t totally off the mark tho  
**23:18 Lee Jeno:** tbh sometimes i watch a routine just for the outfits  
**23:18 Lee Jeno:** but neverrrr just the outfits when it comes to my fav skaters  
**23:18 Na Jaemin:** lol cute who do u like  
**23:18 Lee Jeno:** yuzuru hanyu  
**23:18 Na Jaemin:** who  
**23:18 Lee Jeno:** omg  
**23:18 Lee Jeno:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23EfsN7vEOA  
**23:19 Lee Jeno:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gRoIy0YWQo  
**23:19 Lee Jeno:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUskvEAITdE  
**23:19 Lee Jeno:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk6qrBrqAqo  
**23:19 Lee Jeno:** not to be dramatic or anything but i’m in love with him  
**23:19 Na Jaemin:** lmao fuck ive got some competition then huh  
**23:19 Na Jaemin:** when will i be as good at skating as this mysterious japanese man is  
**23:20 Na Jaemin:** maybe u should teach me  
**23:20 Lee Jeno:** lmfao in your dreams  
**23:20 Na Jaemin:** srsly!!!!! teach me how to do a twizzler  
**23:20 Lee Jeno:** twizzle?  
**23:21 Na Jaemin:** yea tht  
**23:21 Lee Jeno:** -__-  
**23:21 Lee Jeno:** ok fine but only after we’re both done with practice  
**23:22 Na Jaemin:** cant wait bb  <3

 

 

As promised, Jaemin comes to watch their next practice, but instead of irritation, all Jeno feels whenever he looks up to see Jaemin standing at the railings and watching him is this strange kind of fondness. Jeno makes a mental note to schedule a visit with the campus clinic. He must be sick or something.

When they’re done, Heejin leaves early, her eyes narrowed when Jeno doesn’t change out of his skates, and Jeno practically has to force her out the door.

“I’ll figure out what’s going on between the two of you, or my name’s not Jeon Heejin!” Heejin calls out before she turns and barrels into Hyunjin’s waiting arms. Hyunjin gives Jeno a shy smile before she drapes an arm over Heejin’s shoulders to lead her out, and Jeno heads back to the rink.

Jaemin’s not wearing the uniform today, just the same kind of long-sleeved shirt Jeno wears, and Jeno plops down in the same spot Jaemin had been watching him from earlier. He motions for Jeno to come down, and Jeno rolls his eyes before getting up and taking off his skate guards.

“You’re not going to practice today?” Jeno asks, following Jaemin into the center of the rink, and Jaemin shakes his head.

“Nah, got enough practice in before my morning classes. Lectures are usually webcasted for comp sci anyway, so it’s not like I even go to them. It’s more fun just to get out here and skate. Now teach me how to do a twizzler.”

“It’s twizzle.”

“Twizzler,” Jaemin says stubbornly, folding his arms over his chest, and Jeno gives up.

“Do you even know how to do a turn? I never noticed, but the skates on your blades are so much longer than mine. You sure you’ll be okay?” Jeno bends down to inspect their skates.

Jaemin laughs, a haughty noise that doesn’t seem to suit the situation they’re in at all. “Watch me. I’ll do the best twizzler you’ve ever seen in your life.”

Famous last words.

Predictably, Jaemin falls flat on his face, and he pulls himself up to sit on the ice, rubbing gingerly at his ankle. “I think this ice just sucks,” he pouts, and Jeno barely resists the urge to roll his eyes at him. Just kidding— he fails, and Jaemin pouts at him even more in a way that makes Jeno want to do anything for him. Which, gross. Jeno really must be coming down with something.

“It’s probably just your skates,” Jeno says. “Your skates aren’t made for doing pretty turns and spins. They’re built for speed.” Jeno pauses for a reaction to his joke, and when Jaemin doesn’t say anything at all, Jeno continues. “We could just leave now. It’s not like you can teach me how to speed skate, especially not when I don’t have the right shoes for it.”

“Or we can just skate around the edge of the ice. You can do at least that, can’t you?” Then Jaemin’s eyes widen. “Oh, you were making a joke. Because my skates are supposed to make me fast, but they were also created for the sport of speed skating. Oh. _Oh._ Uh, wow.”

“Please never speak of this ever again. I literally never said that, so don’t bring it up even if you’re being held at gunpoint to,” Jeno says, feeling his face heat up in shame, but he follows Jaemin to the edge of the rink all the same.

“So,” Jaemin starts, as casual as possible as they’re skating large loops around the rink. “You and Heejin dating?”

Jeno almost crashes into the barricade between the stands and the rink. “Us? Me and Jeon Heejin? Oh my god, no, we’re like siblings. She’s basically my little sister since we took ballet and jazz together when we were still little kids.”

“Ballet? Really?” Jaemin echoes in a voice that makes Jeno uneasy, and when he looks over, there’s an almost hungry sort of glaze over his eyes. “You’ll have to show me someday, alright? Like, your moves. And stuff.”

“Uh, sure? You look kinda hungry, dude. Wanna go grab something to eat?”

“Yeah, that sounds good. But what’s up with you and Heejin? Dude, the fact that she’s basically your sister is better, isn’t it? Like the connections and the past and the everything.”

“Oh my god, ew, no,” Jeno says. “Well, we fooled around a bit in high school but that’s how we kind of realized we weren’t right for one another. I mean, that and the entire thing about her liking girls more. Besides, she has a hot hockey girlfriend now, and I’m just here trying not to die by a puck to the head.”

“Nice, even less competition now,” Jaemin says, and Jeno blinks at him.

“The hell that’s supposed to mean,” Jeno says, ignoring the weird pang in his chest. He needs to start taking some meds for acid reflux— although it is kinda weird that it only acts up around Jaemin.

“It means whatever you want it to, sweetheart. Alright, how does a lap around the rink sound? Loser is a rotten egg and has to say the other guy’s sport is the best one in the Winter Olympics. Or, you know. Some other kind of payment. For being a loser.”

“Fine,” Jeno says, already stretching, and Jaemin does these absolutely ridiculous finger guns at him.

And somehow, in his desire to avoid saying figure skating isn’t the only reason people watch the Winter Olympics (because it is, and everyone knows this), Jeno’s forgotten that Jaemin’s a speed skater whose entire sport revolves around doing laps as fast as he possibly can. He’s left in the proverbial dust, and Jaemin ends up lapping him, gliding past Jeno on his skates before he turns around to shoot Jeno the most shit-eating grin he’s ever seen on a human being.

“Wow,” Jeno says dryly, coming to a stop in front of Jaemin. “Today’s breaking news: a speed skater beats a figure skater in a race. Next at ten: water is wet and the sky is blue.”

Jaemin shrugs, an easy roll of his shoulders. “Hey, you could’ve been the fastest figure skater ever and I wouldn’t have known. It could’ve been an easy win for you if you just practiced. Anyway, pay up. I’m waiting.”

“Fine. What did you want me to say again?”

“‘Speed skating is the best sport at the Winter Olympics, and Lee Sanghwa and Lim Hyojun are South Korea’s best winter athletes. Kim Yuna who?’ That’s it, really.”

“Oh my god, that isn’t even true. There are so many things about that statement that aren’t true,” Jeno says, aghast. There’s a part of him that’s already dying at having to hear those words come out of his mouth.

“I mean, who brought home thirteen of our medals at Pyeongchang this year? Because it definitely wasn’t the figure skating team, so. Rest in peace, Kim Yuna’s career. Just kidding, I liked her Bond routine. Vancouver, right? 2010?” Jaemin asks, and Jeno’s actually extremely surprised he knows.

“Wow, yeah,” Jeno says, touched. “I’m actually impressed. Good job.”

“Yeah, it’s because I’m a genius. Just kidding, I watched the Olympics back then because I idolized the shit out of Lee Jungsu and Lee Seunghoon, and I happened to catch Kim Yuna’s short program.” Jaemin shrugs again, shifting from one foot to another. “It’s, like, not a big deal though. I don’t even like figure skating that much.”

“Aww,” Jeno coos. “Admit it, you’re a secret figure skater at heart. Everyone is. Okay, fine, fine. I’ll do it, but only because you guys did get a shitload of medals.”

“Wait, you don’t have to,” Jaemin says suddenly, and Jeno pauses in the middle of mentally forming the words _speed skating is like figure skating’s less popular but more commercially successful sibling_.

“Why?”

Jaemin opens his arms. “I’ll accept a hug as payment instead, just so you don’t have to break any figure skating oaths to always consider Kim Yuna the best skater ever or anything. Look at me, I’m being a good person.”

Jeno eyes Jaemin’s outstretched arms. He’d honestly rather just say the damn thing and get it over with, but Jaemin looks expectant and maybe even a little excited. Jeno skates forward, just until he’s close enough to Jaemin to touch, and he wraps his arms around Jaemin’s chest, his hands coming up to rest against Jaemin’s shoulders. He’s warm, like a portable space heater, and after a few seconds, he feels Jaemin pat his back and lets go.

Jaemin’s looking at him, his head tilted and his lips pursed.

Jeno coughs into his fist. “Let’s go. It’s getting late, and I should really be heading home.”

“Yeah,” Jaemin says, and Jeno doesn’t bother looking back to see if Jaemin’s following him. He doesn’t know if he’s going to be okay if he looks back and sees Jaemin still staring at him.

 

 

They meet up outside the rink. He must’ve had more fun than he thought because it’s a lot later than Jeno expected it to be, and when Jeno pulls out his phone to check the bus times back to the dorms, his heart sinks.

 **22:09 dumb bitch energy:** JENO  
**22:09 dumb bitch energy:** DONT COME HOME TONIGHT  
**22:10 dumb bitch energy:** SLEEP ON HYUCKS COUCH OR SMTH  
**22:10 dumb bitch energy:** THX I LOVE U MWAH MWAH :*

Heejin sent him those texts an hour ago when he was still on the ice with Jaemin. He can’t sleep on Donghyuck’s couch. Donghyuck has his boyfriend over tonight, which Jeno only knows because Donghyuck’s been bragging to him all week about all the romantic shit his boyfriend has planned or whatever, and he doesn’t have any other friends he knows would be willing to host him for a night.

“Fuck my life,” Jeno whispers down at his phone screen, and Jaemin looks over.

“What’s wrong?”

“I guess I might as well just go back inside and sleep on the ice and freeze,” Jeno says, a tinge of hysteria creeping into his voice. “No big deal or anything, my roommate just abandoned me out here. Jeon fucking Heejin, I swear to god.”

“If you need a place to stay, you can stay with me,” Jaemin says. He rocks back on his heels. “Only if you’re cool with it, though.”

“Oh, for sure. But won’t your roommates mind?”

“I have a studio. My parents splurged and helped me get a place, and I’ve always liked having my own space. You can stay over tonight, I can’t promise it’ll be super fancy or anything but at least it’s not the locker room bench.” Jaemin checks the time. “Also, I think the next bus back to the dorms comes in half an hour and my place is just a few blocks away. I really don’t mind having you over.”

“Ugh, thanks. You’re my actual lifesaver, you know that? I’ll buy you lunch or dinner or something sometime.” Jeno hefts his backpack onto his shoulders. “Lead the way, captain.”

 

 

There’s only one bed.

Holy shit, there’s only one bed.

Jaemin’s puttering around his studio, oblivious to Jeno’s inner mental breakdown as he tidies up his things, kicking his socks underneath his desk and picking his discarded clothes off of the floor. Jeno, meanwhile, is crumbling. There’s only one bed, but there _is_ a whole lot of floor. He can just sleep there. Or on the desk. Or on the kitchen counter. Or, really, on anywhere that isn’t Jaemin’s bed.

“So, uh, you don’t have a couch?” Jeno asks, affecting the most casual, the most _haha I’m just glad to be here right now_ voice he can.

“Nah,” Jaemin replies breezily, dusting off his blanket. “Don’t really need one.”

“Where do your friends sit then? When they come over?”

Jaemin turns around then, confusion written all over his face before he turns back to look at his bed. He gestures at it. “Uh, my bed? That’s kinda all you need.”

“Oh, cool. I’ll sleep on the floor tonight, thanks, dude.” Jeno’s calm. He’s calm. Everything is fine. Just kidding, he’s about five seconds away from throwing open the door and bolting out into the night because sleeping in the same bed as Na Jaemin, speed skater and frat star and unfortunate recipient of Jeno’s unfortunate one-sided rivalry, is _not_ what he signed up for.

“What? No way.” Jaemin’s eyes curve into a smile. “I was thinking we could just share the same bed.”

Jeno _does_ book it then, muttering some shitty excuse about needing to call his roommate as he fumbles with the lock and ducks outside. Then he makes good on his shitty excuse, pulling up Heejin’s number and calling her. She picks up on the third ring, and Jeno launches into his pleas full throttle.

“Heejin please help me I have to sleep at Jaemin’s place because you’re being an asshole and there’s only one bed what do I do can I come back please,” Jeno blurts out in a single breath, and Heejin doesn’t respond. “Heejin?”

“Just sleep on the damn bed with him,” Heejin finally says, her voice high and breathless, “and don’t call me back tonight.”

Heejin hangs up, and Jeno’s left staring at the call log. _0:41, call ended at 23:30_ , the screen reads, and Jeno sighs into the cold night air. There’s only one way forward from here.

Jaemin’s already in the shower when Jeno comes back inside, and Jeno settles down on the ground and tries to get some readings done for his sociology class, but he ends up tapping away furiously at his laptop.

 **23:44 jenu:** hyuck  
**23:44 jenu:** where are you i need your help  
**23:44 jenu:** it’s a medical problem i’m having heart pains  
**23:45 donyeok:** nope  
**23:45 donyeok:** NOT dealing w ur bullshittery tonight  
**23:45 donyeok:** i have so many better things to do  
**23:46 donyeok:** just go w ur gut dumbass  
**23:46 donyeok:** thats what doctors r for  
**23:46 donyeok:** so bye bitch  
**23:46 jenu:** :(

“If you want to, you can take a shower before getting in. I can get you some clothes to change into since I think we’re pretty much the same size anyway,” Jaemin says, stepping out of the bathroom. He has a towel around his shoulders, and he’s wearing just a tank with basketball shorts. Jeno tries not to let his eyes wander, but Jaemin has some impressive arms. Maybe they can work out together someday. He’s been in desperate need of a spotter for when he benches, anyway. “I have a spare toothbrush if you wanna brush up, too. Feel free to stay up as late as you want, but I think I’m gonna head to bed soon, though.”

“Sure,” Jeno says, eager to have some kind of excuse to get away from this sudden way his heart is beating out of his ribcage like it’s about to burst out. He doesn’t realize it’s all a mistake until he’s finished showering and puts Jaemin’s t-shirt and shorts on. He inhales, deep, through his nose and mouth. The clothes smell like the cologne Jaemin wears every day, like cotton blossoms and warmth.

Jaemin’s clothes are soft and well-worn, and Jeno picks idly at the fabric. He stares at himself in the mirror, and he realizes that he doesn’t know when he stopped thinking of Jaemin as just another one of the speed skaters, just another frat boy, just a parasite, and when he started thinking of Jaemin as just Jaemin.

Another chest pain hits him, and he stares down at where his heart must be.

“Damn you,” Jeno mutters, poking at his chest. “Shut up already.”

His heart, that traitorous asshole of a muscle, doesn’t respond.

 

 

Jaemin’s eyes follow him when he steps out of the bathroom.

“What,” Jeno says, padding over to put his contacts and glasses cases back into his bag.

“I never knew you wore glasses,” Jaemin says, putting his phone aside. “Also, that looks good on you. Are you sure you don’t want to rush?”

“Yeah, my eyesight is kinda shitty,” Jeno laughs. He picks at the letters screenprinted onto the t-shirt. “I’m fine, and I’m pretty sure Delta Rho Mu is good enough without me. Thanks, though.”

Jaemin hums. “That’s a shame. I’ll invite you to a kickback the next time me and my pbros have one. You going to sleep now?”

“Probably. Is there space for me?”

Jaemin scoots back, squeezing his body against the wall and patting the space next to him. “There’s always space in my bed for you.”

Jeno wrinkles his nose at Jaemin, putting his knee onto the bed and gingerly testing his weight. Jaemin has blue sheets with white clouds printed on them. It’s kinda cute.

“Dude, you’re not going to break it or anything. Trust me, my bed can handle you.”

“Sorry for imposing,” Jeno says, because he feels like he should. His heart is beating double-time, triple-time, and shit, he really needs to make an appointment to see his campus doctor tomorrow. He swallows. “I don’t want to make this awkward or anything.”

“Just get in already,” Jaemin says, rolling his eyes, and Jeno does. He holds himself as closely to the edge as he can, and Jaemin’s eyes are filled with mirth. “I’m not going to bite you if you come too close, Jeno. You’re fine.”

Jeno’s about to respond when a flash of color catches his eye, and he looks behind Jaemin’s head at the wall next to the bed. It’s a print out of a Moomin, the same one Jeno remembers coloring, and when he pushes himself onto his elbows and leans over Jaemin to take a closer look at it, that’s when he notices it’s the exact same one he’d colored and traded with Jaemin.

“Oh my god,” Jeno says, delighted. He looks down at Jaemin, who takes a quick glance at the wall and honest to god _flushes_. “Dude, you kept it? That shitty coloring?”

“It’s not shitty,” Jaemin protests, putting his hands out in front of him. “And please, I needed a little splash of color in this boring-ass studio. It just so happens that you don’t seem to have any kind of color coordination at all, which is perfect for brightening up my place.”

Jeno pauses. “Okay, I feel like I should be more offended. But for some reason, I’m not. Is that weird?”

“Shut up and go to sleep already,” Jaemin mutters, turning until his back’s to Jeno. “You’re usually really quiet, but sometimes, you can be so loud. How does that even happen?”

“I got no idea either, but when I find out, you’ll be the first to know.” Jeno pokes Jaemin’s back before he turns away, their backs to each other. “Thanks for letting me crash at your place. Goodnight, Jaemin.”

There’s a rustle, and Jeno can feel Jaemin rolling over. He can’t tell what the expression on Jaemin’s face is like, but he hopes it’s a good one.

“Goodnight, Jeno.”

 

 

The first thing Jeno does after completing his walk of shame— it’s not really a walk of shame, not when he had to bus back to campus, but the point and feelings still stand— back to his dorm room and dropping off his exercise bag is to sprint as fast as he can to the campus health center.

“I think I have acid reflux,” Jeno says miserably to the physician, and she looks up at him in alarm.

“What brought this on?”

“Sometimes, I get these really awful chest pains, and my heart feels like it’s tightening. Then my palms get super sweaty and my heart rate gets super fast, and it feels like I can’t breathe,” Jeno says, and he watches as she jots down some notes. “But it’s kinda weird. It only really happens when I’m around someone. Can acid reflux be triggered by being around someone?”

“No, it can’t,” she says, and she folds her hands over her lap. There’s a small smile on her face. “I can prescribe you some antacids if you want to come in on another day and schedule an esophagram to get a diagnosis confirmed, but that’s not what I’d do.”

Jeno’s eyebrows furrow. “What’s the first thing you would do?”

“I’d go to that someone and talk to them,” the physician says. “If that doesn’t clear up your symptoms, schedule another visit with me and we’ll see if your acid reflux is really what’s causing you chest pains.”

“But it is,” Jeno says blankly. “I don’t understand what else could possibly be the cause of them.”

“I think you’ll find out soon. Let me know if you want to go through with the esophagram.”

Jeno bumps into Kim Seungmin on his way out of the clinic. He’s a speed skater, same as Jaemin, but when Jeno sees him, he doesn’t feel the same animosity for him that he would’ve before. He waves at Jeno, and Jeno waves back before a thought strikes him.

“Hey, hasn’t your rink been out of service for too long? No offense, but when are you guys going to quit using our rink already? It’s kinda annoying and cuts into our practice times.”

Seungmin stares at him, confused. “Uh, we got our rink fixed a long time ago? We went back to using it after the first day, so there shouldn’t be anyone still using your rink for short track practices.”

“Oh. Really? Shit, sorry about that,” Jeno apologizes, and he walks away from the clinic with more questions than he had before he came there. He’ll have to clear this up with Jaemin, then.

 

 

Jeno races to the rink after class, and Heejin is already there, warming up on the ice. He stretches with her before throwing her various distances across the ice, and she puts on a show, skating into her turns as extravagantly as she can.

“What’s going on with you today?” Jeno laughs, and Heejin grins at him.

“What’s going on with _you_ today?” She repeats at him, skating a small circle around him.

“Nothing.”

“Doesn’t sound like nothing, liar.”

“Shut up, traitor, you left me to _die_ last night. You literally threw me out into the cold and fed me to the wolves and I hate you more and more every day. I’m petitioning the ISU to let me compete in singles next competition season.” Jeno puts his fists on his hips before deciding that’s not enough of a power move. He crosses his arms instead.

“You wouldn’t,” Heejin shoots back at him. “It’s not like you have any routines you could do without a partner. Face it, Lee Jeno, you’re stuck with me for the rest of your life, no take backs forever period, black out white out. There. Ha.”

“Real mature, Jeon,” Jeno says, sticking his tongue out at her. “You couldn’t do women’s singles either, you can barely do the Biellmann.”

“Dude, the Biellmann isn’t even required for women’s singles. As long as I can get the triple axel down pat, I’m good for points.”

“Yeah, but it’s _cool_. And guess who can do it? That’s right, bitch, it’s me.”

Heejin’s pretty when she’s annoyed with him, but at least he’s at least relatively secure in the knowledge that her annoyance is just for show. Mostly. They run through Come What May a few times, the music blaring out of the overhead speakers, and once they’ve gotten to their ending positions, Heejin gets up from where she’s lying down on the ice and shakes Jeno’s arm. He looks down at her.

“What, you gnome?”

“Ugh,” Heejin says, wrinkling her nose. “I do wish you wouldn’t call me that. It kind of reminds me of Yeojin, which reminds me of puke, which reminds me of—”

“Okay, okay. Fine. I get the point. What were you going to say before, though?”

“Look over there. Na Jaemin’s here again. What’s he doing here?”

Jaemin’s leaning over the railings, and when he sees Jeno and Heejin looking over at him, he waves. His hair is curly today, a little bit fluffier, a little bit poofier, and _fuck_ , his chest pains are acting up again. Goddammit. He puts a hand over his chest, and Heejin looks over at him in alarm. “Hey, you okay there?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just some acid reflux. I think. Well, the doctor thinks it isn’t really acid reflux, but I think it is.”

“I think I’d trust a licensed medical doctor over a nineteen year old who barely knows how to count, thank you very much. You never did manage to make it to multivariable. Dumbass.”

“Multi is some disgusting shit, Heejin, I have no idea why you’re so obsessed with math. Is it because you spent so much time calculating the probability that Hyejoo would date you someday?”

Heejin gasps. She’s clearly remembering the time she tried to ask Hyejoo out to winter formal back in high school, but Hyejoo had only turned and hid behind a grinning Chaewon. “Low blow. I’m going to slice your thigh open with my skates, just fucking watch me, you giant nerd.”

At the end of their routine for Defying Gravity, Jeno lifts Heejin into the air, his palms holding her up as she poses and smiles. It’s one of his favorite parts, where he can feel the wind rushing past him and the ice underneath his skates, and it feels like all of his senses are tuned to a knifelife precision. He can hear the murmuring of the crowd all around him, can hear the smallest notes in their music, can pick out all the faces in the stands, and today is no exception.

All he can see is the way Jaemin stares at him with something like wonder in his eyes, and suddenly, suddenly, Jeno realizes just what exactly the cause of his chest pains was.

He doesn’t even bother to hug Heejin after a routine well done— he skates right to where Jaemin is standing, and when Jaemin leans over the edge and says, “You were _amazing_ ,” Jeno grabs his face and uses his picks to tiptoe just that bit higher to meet him and kisses Jaemin full on the mouth.

Jaemin makes a noise, but it’s not a bad noise, so Jeno doesn’t pull away, and Jeno can feel Jaemin smiling against his lips.

“I had chest pains because of you,” Jeno murmurs, pulling back just slightly, and Jaemin grins at him. He thumbs at Jeno’s jaw, brushing his fingers along Jeno’s cheek, and Jeno leans into it.

“You did? I’m sorry. I had a lot of problems because of you, too,” Jaemin says. “You don’t even know how cute you were, wearing my shirt and sleeping in my bed last night.”

“Hey, at least I’m not the one who ditched my team to go practice at another rink,” Jeno says, and Jaemin’s eyes widen. “Yeah, I met Seungmin earlier today and he told me you guys got your rink repaired ages ago. This isn’t the right rink for you, but you came anyway.”

“Well, it was the only way I could see you. Can you blame me for trying to get to know you a bit better?”

“Nah,” Jeno answers, and Jaemin leans down again, winding his fingers into Jeno’s hair and tugging him forward for another kiss.

“Excuse me,” Heejin says, right next to them. “Uh, what the fuck?”

“Oh, it’s you,” Jeno says. He’d completely forgotten about the entire “Heejin is my partner and she’s always here with me to practice” situation. Dammit.

“Hi, I’m Jaemin,” Jaemin says, and he lets go of Jeno’s hair to offer his hand to Heejin. “Nice to meet you.”

Heejin ignores it. “Dude, I thought you were going out with Renjun? What about that Moomin date? With the ugly-cute drawing? And the burgers and shakes afterward? I saw the pics on your phone, you can’t hide from me.”

“Um,” Jeno starts, and he realizes that there really is no good way of saying this, especially not to Heejin, who’s been overly invested in his and Renjun’s absolutely non-existent relationship from the start. Time to get it all out all at once, painful and quick but for the best in the long run. Like ripping off a bandage with no small amount of force. “He was the one who asked me out, but Renjun actually stood me up that day. I, um. I went with Jaemin here.”

“Oh my god,” Jaemin says, and he starts laughing, clutching his stomach and folding into himself. “Wait, oh my god.”

“What? It’s not that funny.”

“Yeah, it kind of is.” Jaemin straightens up and fixes Jeno with a broad smile. “No shame in admitting this, but I asked Renjun out and he stood me up, too. That’s why I was there that day.”

“But you said you were meeting a friend— oh. That was an excuse. Just like mine.”

“I’m glad he stood us up, though. Otherwise, I don’t think we would’ve gone on a date.”

Jeno flushes. “That wasn’t a date.”

“Oh, really? Then I guess we should go out this weekend and make that our first date. There’s an event at the shelter downtown where you can pet all the cats you want. I’m down to go if you are.”

Jeno’s sure his mouth is moving in the most unattractive ways, opening and closing like a fish out of water, and Heejin reaches over to gently close his jaw.

“That’s a yes,” Heejin says helpfully, and Jeno glares at her. “What? Don’t give me that look, I know you want it too. Anyway, I’ll leave you two to it, but don’t think you’re off the hook for this. I’m gonna make you spill when we get home tonight.”

“Whatever, just don’t kick me out again and I’ll tell you everything you want to know,” Jeno says, and Heejin fondly flips him off before she skates away. He turns back to Jaemin. “So you were intentionally using a rink that wasn’t made for speed skating at all to practice?”

Jaemin rubs the back of his neck. “I mean, I went to practice in the mornings before class and then came to see you practice after dinner. So I got short track practice in. Don’t worry about me, cutie.” Jaemin winks at him, and Jeno momentarily wonders if he can reach up and strangle him. Jaemin’s not that far above him. “Listen, when my teammates told me our rink got fixed, I was like ‘aw man, really?’ But then I realized you wouldn’t even know. It’s not that hard living a double life. I’m basically Superman.”

“You wish, Jaemin,” Jeno snorts. “Thanks, though. You’re really sweet. I guess I don’t have to schedule a follow-up appointment with that doctor anymore.”

“A follow-up? Why?”

Jeno winces. “I thought the reason I was having chest pains was because I had acid reflux.” Jaemin starts laughing again, his eyes crinkling in a way that is entirely too handsome for Jeno to deal with. “Oh my god, stop laughing. I’m going to end your life right here, right now. I have two entire weapons on me right now.”

“You would never,” Jaemin scoffs. “So get up here and let’s make out already.”

Jaemin extends his arms down to Jeno, and Jeno looks up at him.

“Dude, I’m not letting you try to carry me up. That’s not going to work, and we’re both going to die. And then I’ll slice off your feet with my skates,” Jeno says, skating around to the gate and stepping out. He grabs his skate guards and slips them on, and when he looks up again, Jaemin’s standing in front of him. “Romantic, isn’t it? It was worth a try, though.”

“There’s always next time,” Jaemin sighs wistfully, and Jeno stares at him.

“If you really want me to slice off your toes, just give me the go ahead and I’ll do it,” Jeno threatens. “It’s payback for all the shit you put me through.”

“Me? Put you through shit?” Jaemin’s tone is incredulous. “Uh, I wasn’t the one who was snuggling me like an octopus last night. I thought _I_ was a clingy sleeper, but Jesus, I could barely breathe. Give a guy some warning next time, will you?”

Jeno can feel his face heating up. He’s certain his ears are turning red at the ends, too. “Consider yourself warned, then,” Jeno says petulantly. “Anyway, I’m not the one who—”

He stops, remembering how he had to detach himself from Jaemin’s arms in the morning, and Jaemin’s grin widens.

“Who what?” Jaemin practically purrs, stepping forward into Jeno’s space, and Jeno swallows the lump in his throat. Oh no, he’s getting chest pains again. “Jeno?”

“Nothing,” Jeno lies. He grabs the front of Jaemin’s shirt and drags him forward. “You’re right, we should just get on with the making out. Chop chop, we don’t have all day. Less talking, more making out.”

“Thought you’d never say so,” Jaemin breathes out, and he closes the gap between them. He puts his hands on Jeno’s hips and leans forward to knock his forehead against Jeno’s. “Don’t worry. We’ve got all the time in the world.”

 

 

 **14:54 leejen:** jaemin stop changing my kkt name  
**14:54 najaem:** im not doing anything  
**14:54 squirrel ♡:** see?  
**14:54 acorn ♡:** what did you do now  
**14:54 acorn ♡:** GOD I HATE YOU  
**14:55 squirrel ♡:** no u love me  
**14:55 squirrel ♡:** ♡__♡  
**14:56 acorn ♡:** that’s disgusting  
**14:56 acorn ♡:** BLOCKED  
**14:56 squirrel ♡:** i can still msg u  
**14:56 squirrel ♡:** if ur gonna make threats u should follow up w them  
**14:57 acorn ♡:** say goodbye to ryan  
**14:57 squirrel ♡:** NO DONT I LOVE RYAN  
**14:57 acorn ♡:** FIGHT ME FOR HIM!!!!  
**14:58 squirrel ♡:** NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**Author's Note:**

> thx to reem for the idea creds and the title creds (from ellie goulding's figure 8) and the handholding creds ♡ this entire fic was based off of her experience at a moomin exhibit... art imitates life, truly ♡
> 
> \- THE HEEJEN AGENDA!!!!! i love them... [this heejin](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DnwbBjdU8AAD78d.jpg) and [this jeno](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DnwbCRtU0AAej7P.jpg)!!!!  
> btw i based them off scottessa T_T  
> \- used [defying gravity](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLVemaNfbGE) and [come what may](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru2CRaieoYE) as their short program and free dance songs cuz i had nothing else!!! to use!!!  
> \- figure skater jeno is a yuzuru stan.. and a yuna stan..  
> \- speed skater jaemin is irl jaemin T_T our boy who got scouted doing volunteer work..  
> \- rip 2jin making out whenever jeno needs help  
> \- i was a vancouver 2010 fs/ss stan..... can you tell........ this massive amount of Projecting lolol  
> \- i was gonna add a whole bunch of links for all the athletes and routines i mentioned in this but then the end notes would be too long!!! so have fun googling haha  
> \- also please suspend all disbelief and pretend for a few seconds that frats/sororities exist in sk.. i forgot... lol T_T  
> \- renjun ditched jaemjen to chase winwin probably
> 
> thanks for reading!!!!! i hope you enjoyed it!!!!!! ♡♡♡♡  
> [twt](http://twitter.com/gaImaegi) & [cc](http://curiouscat.me/jenuyu)!!


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